I grew up listening to Capital Radio. It was a much freer, more independent alternative to Radio 1. Capital was the soundtrack to growing up in London in the 70s and 80s. Across the UK, there was similar love for independent, individual stations. But gradually, practically all of them fell victim to a huge and […]

RIP Mark Hollis, former lead singer of Talk Talk, who died yesterday. Though I must admit, until this morning, I’d never heard of him. And this despite being an obsessive music fan, especially in the 1980s. This was Talk Talk’s biggest – well, let’s be honest, only hit that most people would recognise. And yet […]

Congratulations to Olivia Colman on winning an Oscar last night for her portrayal of Queen Anne in The Favourite. Given her national treasure status in the UK, the title of the film could hardly be more appropriate. I used to work with her lot when she was the voice of Sainsbury’s and she was – […]

Most people assumed it was Harold Melvin but, of course, it was Teddy Pendergrass, arguably greatest soul singer of all time. Teddy was also tragically unlucky. Harold Melvin was a horrible, conniving narcissist who’d had little success with The Bluenotes. Once Teddy joined, and it was apparent that they were going to be huge, Harold […]

Yesterday, a group of moderate Labour MPs resigned from the party to form a new Independent group, with a view to forming a new political party by the end of the year. All very similar to 1981 when Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers quit Labour to form the SDP. Then as […]

Hard to imagine but apparently, I was quite a clever child. Unfortunately, I became a rather stupid adult. By the age of five, I could read, write and tell the time, so my dad gave me this very old, very cheap Timex watch with a blue face and brown strap. Ridiculous as I must have […]

…..Joe’s Basement was underneath the Las Vegas amusement arcade on Wardour Street. The Las Vegas was a very seamy place, typical of 1980s Soho. Filled with pinball machines and early video games, it was where forlorn young rent boys met their seedy middle-aged clients. “Keep out of there, cat!” Joe warned me in typically forthright […]

There’s been much talk this week about Albert Finney’s breakthrough role in Tom Jones. This reminded me of Joseph Andrews, Henry Fielding’s other famous novel. And this reminded me of Gypsy Joe Andrews, who ran a photographic lab in Wardour Street called Joe’s Basement. In my first job, I went there practically every day. Thin, […]

RIP Gordon Banks, England’s 1966 World Cup-winning goalkeeper, who died yesterday. Arguably the greatest keeper this country has ever produced, he was one of those rare people for whom nobody had a bad word. Banks is best remembered for the “Save of the Century” against Brazil in 1970 (1:15 on this clip), when England had […]

Albert Finney, one of our greatest actors, died yesterday, aged 82. He rose to fame in the early 60s, around the same time as a young singer named Tommy Woodward was struggling in the working men’s clubs around South Wales. In 1963, Finney starred in Tom Jones, based on Henry Fielding’s bawdy 18th century novel. […]